Long Chains Combe South: two standing stones 380m south west of the sheepfold

List Entry Summary

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Name: Long Chains Combe South: two standing stones 380m south west of the sheepfold

List entry Number: 1014279

Location

The monument may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County: Somerset

District: West Somerset

District Type: District Authority

Parish: Exmoor

National Park: EXMOOR

Grade: Not applicable to this List entry.

Date first scheduled: 28-Mar-1996

Date of most recent amendment: Not applicable to this List entry.

Legacy System Information

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System: RSM

UID: 25207

Asset Groupings

This list entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information.

List entry Description

Summary of Monument

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Reasons for Designation

Exmoor is the most easterly of the three main upland areas in the south
western peninsula of England. In contrast to the other two areas, Dartmoor and
Bodmin Moor, there has been no history of antiquarian research and little
excavation of its monuments. However, survey work has confirmed a comparable
richness of archaeological remains with evidence of human exploitation and
occupation from the Mesolithic period to the present day. The well-preserved
and often visible relationships between settlement sites, major land
boundaries, trackways and ceremonial and funerary monuments give insight into
successive changes in the pattern of land-use through time.
Standing stones are prehistoric ritual or ceremonial monuments, with dates
ranging from the Late Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age for the few
excavated examples. They comprise single or paired upright orthostatic slabs,
ranging from under 1m to over 6m high where still erect. They are often
conspicuously sited and close to prehistoric burial monuments such as small
cairns and cists. Standing stones may have functioned as markers for
routeways, territories, graves or meeting points, but their accompanying
features show they also bore a ritual function and that they form one of
several ritual monument classes of their period. Although standing stones are
widely distributed throughout England, the recorded examples on Exmoor form an
important subgroup of the total population and are considered to be of
national importance.

The Long Chains Combe South standing stones survive well and will retain
archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the development and use
of the monument.

History

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Details

The monument includes two standing stones and the archaeologically sensitive
area between and around them, located on a small ledge on the steep, southern
side of Long Chains Combe 380m south west of the sheepfold. The stones are 6m
apart and are orientated WNW/ESE. The north western one measures 300mm high,
150mm wide and 120mm thick while the south eastern one measures 530mm high,
250mm wide and 120mm thick.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Selected Sources

Books and journalsQuinnell, N V, Dunn, C J, Lithic Monuments within the Exmoor National Park: A New Survey, (1992), 42

The information and images below are the opinion of the contributor, are not part of the official entry and do not represent the official position of Historic England. We have not checked that the contributions below are factually accurate. Please see our terms and conditions. If you wish to report an issue with a contribution or have a question please email EnrichingTheList@HistoricEngland.org.uk.